Barefoot Trimming: The Simple Black & White of It

I received an email today, in which the writer, a barefoot trimmer, said, “to just keep saying "nature will fix it" just doesn't cut it with me”.

Therein lies the problem with “natural” barefoot trimming. The refusal to accept the fact that the foot MUST do all the fixing. Nothing else can. Healing must occur, and only the body (nature!) can heal anything.

If you have a broken leg, doctors can realign the bones, but unless the ends of the bones knit together (heal) your leg will remain broken. Surgeons can cut you open and do a heart transplant, but your body must heal the sutures, and embrace the heart, or you will not live.

Man can do some things, but man cannot heal the body. The blood, tissue, bone, etc. of the body must do their part. Only Nature can heal anything.

Barefoot trimmers are so arrogant as to deny that the hoof/foot of a horse must do the healing.

This is what I have to say about that.

A trimmer can do one of two things when trimming. Two things! Either remove something from the hoof, or leave something alone. That is it! It is truly that simple. Remove something or leave something alone. All the arrogance that people have from reading all about the foot is just that – arrogance. No matter who trims the foot, the foot must do the internal work of healing. The more we respect what the foot asks us to do – and not do! – the better chance the foot has of healing.

Look at the insides of some feet. A short time before these feet were cut open, the horses to whom they belonged were alive. Imagine how they felt. Does anyone think that cutting something off of any of these feet would HEAL the damaged tissues?

If you are a barefoot trimmer always keep in mind you can only do two things. Remove something from the hoof, or leave something alone. You are not God. You do not heal anything. Nature does the healing.